ABSTRACT
This chapter examines closely the food types upon which the peoples of the developing world depend. It analyzes the relative importance of basic food commodities. Although the preceding tables are comprised of aggregations of data from extremely heterogeneous countries, they do effectively point out the relative importance of the world's various nutrient sources. The amount of food eaten by any individual is determined largely by the requirement for calories rather than for protein. Because of the various staples used around the globe, and because of differing geographical conditions, it is useful to analyze the world's nutritional habits and dietary problems and to evaluate the possibilities for eliminating nutritional deficiencies on a regional basis. The pressure placed on the total nutritional needs of the developing countries by population growth is amplified by the emergence of worldwide rising affluence. The United Natoins projections show three alternative population levels for the year 2000: 6.0 billion, 6.5 billion, and 7.1 billion.
